Second Chances
by Soledad
Summary: You thought you knew about Lennier's final fate? Well, think again. This is a prequel to "Prophecy & Change". Please notice the big, honking AU label.


**SECOND CHANCES**

 **by Soledad**

 **Fandom:** Babylon5/Crusade crossover

 **Rating:** G

 **Genre:** Alternate Universe

 **Series:** This is a prequel to "Prophecy  & Change"

 **Pairing:** None yet.

 **Disclaimer:** The Babylon 5 universe belongs to JMS. I'm just borrowing the characters for some fun. I promise to give them back relatively unharmed.

 **Summary:** You thought you knew about Lennier's final fate? Well, think again.

* * *

His tiny ship was spinning out of control, the instruments failing, one after another. The last thing he saw was a black shadow, shaped like a three-edged arrow, hovering above him; then he lost consciousness.

When he came to again, he found himself amidst unfamiliar surroundings: in a dimly lit room that might or might not be the control room of a small spacecraft. The instruments covering the walls around him were ones he could not recognize. He couldn't even begin to guess their purpose, to be honest. This was a technology he had never encountered before.

The only other person in the room sat at a little distance; black-clad, erect and broad-shouldered, his face shadowed by a wide hood pulled over his head. Though he could not see the face behind it, Lennier was quite certain that it was a man… and a human one, at that. He had lived among humans long enough to recognize the specific scent of their males. Minbari taste buds were a lot less developed than those of humans (or even Centauri), but their sense of smell was magnitudes better in exchange.

It made no sense, though. Humans did not possess this kind of technology; Lennier knew that. Unless he had been captured by one of the remaining Shadow Servants, that is. By his usual luck, it wouldn't be surprising.

As if sensing that he was being watched, the black-clad person turned towards Lennier and folded back his hood. The face thus revealed was human indeed, with cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass, eyes of an intense, almost electric blue, a strong chin and a fine blade of a nose.

A face of strong, demanding character.

His head was completely bald and beautifully shaped – to a Minbari's eye, at least. It was hard to understand why humans would prefer to hide such excellent features under the fur they called _hair_.

"Ah!" the man said in obvious delight. "You are awake at last! Pleased to finally meet you, Lennier of the Third Fane of Chu'domo! Took you long enough to come my way!"

He had a clear tenor voice and an accent almost as sharply cut as his cheekbones. _Almost_. It was vaguely similar to that of Marcus, though not exactly the same, and every single word of his was clearly accentuated.

"Do I know you?" Lennier asked weakly, confused.

The man's face lit up in amusement.

"No, I don't think so, though you _might_ have caught a glance of me when I passed through Babylon 5 with my mentor and brethren a few years ago. But I know _you_. I know your path will cross mine, sooner or later. I just hoped it would happen sooner. Well, it doesn't matter. You're here now, and _that's_ what matters."

"How could you know it?" Lennier wondered.

The man gave him a smile, showing small, even white teeth for a moment.

"It was shown to me in a vision by the Great Machine of Epsilon 3. Sadly, it didn't give me the exact date… _or_ the place. So I've been looking for you ever since the end of the Shadow War."

"Why?"

"Because in less than another year a new kind of darkness will rise, bringing Earth to the verge of destruction, and there are only two ways to prevent humankind from becoming extinct," the man answered grimly. "Sheridan and the ones I chose for him _might_ prevent the catastrophe entirely. I hope they can, for that would be the quick and easy way."

"The universe is seldom so accommodating," Lennier commented.

The man nodded. "I know. Should they fail, at least partially, I must act – and the other way will be long, complicated and full of setbacks. And in that case I would need your help."

"Mine?" Lennier laughed bitterly. "I am an outcast. I cannot show my face on Babylon 5 – or on Minbar – ever again."

"You won't have to," the human assured him. "What I need is your _knowledge_. You are – well, _were_ – a priest and a scholar before you'd join the Rangers. You still know many secrets of the Religious Caste – spiritual secrets, not military ones. I may have need of those before everything ends."

"What for?"

"Because when science no longer can help us, faith still might," the man said seriously. "I am a techno-mage. I use technology to make the illusion of magic. But that doesn't mean that I don't _believe_ in magic. Magic is all around us; most people are just too narrow-minded to recognise it. But the priests of old were wiser. Tradition might have preserved that which is in no official records."

"But if you know the future," Lennier said, "why don't you warn the President now?"

"And would he believe me?" the man asked rhetorically. "I have no proof; not yet. Securing evidence shall be our main task in the upcoming year. Besides, the future is fluid, not set in stone yet. What I saw in the Great Machine is a _possible_ future; and I've been chosen to prevent it from becoming reality… if I can."

"Why you?" Lennier asked.

The man shrugged. "Why are any of us chosen? There are many tasks within our abilities, and we can only hope that we get assigned to the right ones. I've been chosen to deal with this particular danger; and _you_ have been chosen to help me."

"I have no wish to work with humans again," Lennier admitted.

The man gave him a piercing glare. "The universe does not give us what we _want_ ," he replied. "It gives us what we _need_ – whether we like it or not. And right now, this is the task you are given."

Lennier nodded tiredly. If the universe decided that helping to save humankind would be his atonement, he would obey – as he had always obeyed. He would prefer to cleanse his soul through death and rebirth, but it was not his right to choose the way of his atonement.

"I shall go with you then," he whispered. "And I shall do my best to help you. Even though I don't know who you are."

"I'm an outcast, like you," the man answered. "My brethren frequently disapprove of my actions, and it's only a matter of time before they'll ask me to leave the Circle forever."

"That must be hard to know," Lennier murmured.

"Not as hard as you may think," the man said thoughtfully. "Quite frankly, I find life within the Circle stifling, and after the death of my mentor – the only one who still meant something to me – I'm _almost_ looking forward to leaving the artificial nest they had built to hide in and stretch my wings again."

" _Almost_?" Lennier echoed.

"It is never easy to travel alone," the man replied. "One has to endure one's own company for too long… one's own demons. But I knew I would find you sooner or later, so I had something to look forward to – and _that_ is a rare gift in these days."

Lennier accepted that with a nod. "Where are we going?" he then asked.

"Everywhere. Nowhere," the man replied airily. "We need more information. I do have the contacts, but I must return to the Circle for a while. I have been away for too long; the others will begin to worry, soon. We don't want them to worry – if they're worried about their safety, they might try to stop me, regardless of the consequences."

"They'd sacrifice billions of humans for their own safety?" Lennier asked, horrified.

The man shrugged. "They _like_ being safe. Besides, you as a Minbari are hardly entitled to judge them. At least they aren't actively trying to wipe out humankind, are they?"

Lennier retreated in ashamed silence. What he had learned about the Earth-Minbari war and Delenn's role in it still filled him with dread. Besides, he _had_ tried to kill President Sheridan out of mundane jealousy. The mage was correct. He had no right to judge others.

"So, what do you want me to do?" he asked after a lengthy pause.

"I need you to go to my contacts and get the information they had gathered for me," the man replied. "I'll provide you with the means to forward the data to me in a way that cannot be traced back to either of us. Fortunately for us, a Worker Class Minbari can come and go relatively unnoticed."

"But I am Religious," Lennier pointed out.

"And who can tell a Religious from a Worker by mere sight?" the mage asked rhetorically. "Don't worry, we'll create a waterproof disguise for you – or do you find travelling as a Worker beneath you?"

Lennier shook his head. "Not at all. I have been a priest and I have been a warrior; perhaps it is time for me to come to full circle. I would still like to know who _you_ are, though."

"That is something you'll have to find out for yourself; and it might well prove to be a lifelong task," the mage said. "But if it is any help, my name is Galen."

~The End~


End file.
